Proposed Workers’ Compensation Coronavirus/COVID Legislation Stalled in Committee

By: Mark Barnes
mbarnes@nullbugbeelawyers.com
Shortly after the inception of the pandemic, Ohio state lawmakers got to work proposing legislation to cover coronavirus in the workplace.  House Bills 571, 573, 605, 633, 667, and 668 propose amendments to the occupational disease provision of the workers’ compensation statute (4123.

Are Injuries Sustained at Home During Telework Compensable?

By: Mark Barnes
mbarnes@nullbugbeelawyers.com
Since the onset of the pandemic in the Spring of 2020, the Director of the Ohio Department of Health, through its orders, has encouraged employers to permit “as many employees as possible to work from home by implementing policies in areas such as teleworking and video conferencing.

Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Decision Addresses Affirmative Defense and More in Chemical Exposure Accident

By: Carl Habekost, Esq.
chabekost@nullbugbeelawyers.com

The Process Safety Management (PSM), Hazard Communication (HazCom) and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) standards were implicated in a recent decision issued on December 31, 2020 by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) in Secretary of Labor v Mansfield Industrial, Inc.

OSHA COVID-19 Citations Rack Up

By: Carl Habekost, Esq.
chabekost@nullbugbeelawyers.com
On January 8, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it has issued citations arising from 300 inspections for violations relating to coronavirus, resulting in proposed penalties totaling $3,930,381.

OSHA Penalties Increased Effective January 15, 2021

Since 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has increased OSHA penalties annually based on the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index, after a 26 year increase hiatus.  The DOL is required to adjust maximum OSHA penalties for inflation annually by the 15th of January.